TO GOD ASCRIBE GLORY

Vain, superficial, and ungrateful men, who have never duly estimated the desert, the degrading nature, and alienating effect of sin in their own heart and conduct, or the values, the necessity, and the wonder of mercy, as revealed in the character of God, will be ready to ascribe that salvation which is revealed in the Gospel, to something meritorious in themselves, or, at least, to some notions of their own free will, disposing them to depart from a sinful course, and to turn to God with repentance, and with a sincere, though imperfect obedience.

But, not to insist on the absurdity of supposing a creature, which is by nature enmity, changing itself into love; a creature, which is by nature blind, restoring itself to sight; a creature, which is by nature polluted, exerting the energies of natural holiness; a creature, which is by nature wicked and perverse, by the natural efforts of its own free will becoming sincerely penitent and obedient. A creature, in short, which is by nature spiritually dead, performing all the exercises of spiritual life; absurdities compared in Scripture to that of the Ethiopian changing his skin, or the leopard his spots.

Let us, with all humility, inquire into the fact regarding the first promise on which mankind rested the hope of its salvation, and we shall find, from the circumstances and manner in which that promise was conveyed, abundant reason, completely and forever, to exclude the most remote pretention to merit or condition on the part of man. This promise, as is well known, refers to an illustrious Seed of the woman, which was to bruise the head of the serpent. Or, in other words, to break down the dominion which that murderous enemy had, through the violation of the divine law, usurped over man, as recorded in the third chapter of the book of Genesis.

Now, to suppose man, after his transgression, possessed of any merit or desert which could call forth the divine favour towards him, or even of any qualities which could render him a fit subject of covenant or relations with God, is an idea wholly repugnant to every proper conception of the divine perfections. To hold communion and fellowship with a child of the dust, an inhabitant of this lower world, even in a state of innocence and holiness, was an instance of astonishing condescension in the glorious majesty of heaven and earth. But to suppose a sinful worm of the dust — a vile and degraded apostate — an ungrateful and abandoned rebel, still deserving of the divine favour, still fit to be treated with anew on the ground of mutual agreement, this is a thought so dishonorable to God, and so palpably absurd, that nothing but the most infatuated delusion could impose it, for a moment, on any reasonable mind.

This was a thought which did not, and could not, enter into the mind of Adam himself, and which is cherished only by the blindest and most degenerate of his race. He knew too much of the character of God, and of his own deplorable situation, to conceive so unsuitably concerning himself. He knew that he had lost the image in which he had been created, and had fallen from his high estate. He saw that he was naked — he felt the degrading sensation of shame — the distracting passion of fear — he fled from the presence of God, which he found himself unworthy and too terrified to behold.

When summoned to appear, he stood guilty, silent, and self-condemned. He had no apology to offer for his conduct, no alleviating circumstances to plead, either in arrest of judgment, in extenuation of his offence, or for reduction of punishment. He could not plead any ignorance of his duty, or want of ability to discharge it; he could not plead any advantage which had been taken of him by a too powerful enemy, or any want of sufficient previous warning; he was aware that life and death had been distinctly set before him, and the awful curse upon transgression still sounded in his ears, “dying thou shalt die!” He was conscious of having offered the most daring insult of the divine perfections, in having indulged the pride of his own reason in opposition to the wisdom of his Maker, and believed the devil rather than God.

Yet he was not humbled under this dreadful accumulation of aggravated guilt, neither was he disposed to penitence and submission. No! Not one symptom of contrition does his conduct exhibit, not one confession of sin, or supplication for mercy escaped his lips. He did not even look for mercy, or conceive the slightest prospect of forgiveness. But, on the contrary, by a species of stupid insensibility, which could be induced only by desperation, he attempted to shift his guilt over to another, and to charge it ultimately upon God himself, as if he would provoke the jealousy of his Maker, and madly challenge Omnipotence to do its worst. “The woman, whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree and I did eat.”

In these circumstances, where was the motive to favor on the part of God? Where was the pretension of merit on the part of man? In such circumstances, what good or holy work could man perform, which might deserve even a temporary suspension of the threatened punishment; how much less a happy restoration to his former glory? Instead of this, we behold nothing but wretchedness, and crime, and obstinacy, and perverseness. And the gracious promise which reached his wondering ears, as it stands wholly exclusive of all merit on the part of man, and of any duty or condition which he was able to perform, must be completely referred to the free, self-moving, and eternal love of God; no other reason can possibly be assigned for it, no other source can possibly be conceived from which it could have flowed.

But, to put this important fact, if possible, in a still clearer point of view, the manner in which this promise was conveyed, demonstrates the folly and madness of ascribing salvation to the desert of man, either inherent or acquired; either possessed or foreseen. For, let it be particularly observed, that the promise referred to was not addressed immediately to man, but was merely included in the curse denounced against the serpent. This is a circumstance not generally noticed by the readers of the Scriptures. But it is a circumstance which throws the clearest light on the doctrine of salvation by free grace; it is a circumstance which holds out a most humiliating proof of the degradation of the human character, in consequence of sin.

When man was originally created, and as long as he retained his happy innocence, the Lord was pleased to talk with him familiarly, and in the language of a friend. “He blessed him, and gave him dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every thing that moveth on the face of the earth; he brought the beasts of the field, and the fowls of the air before him, to see what he would call them. And whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.” So was it done to the man whom the King of heaven and earth delighted to honor. But how is the gold now become dim! how is the most fine gold changed! The Lord now calls Adam into his presence, but he will not speak to him one comfortable word! He turns away in wrath from man, to commune with the serpent, and even when an intimation of mercy is thrown out for the benefit of the human race, it must be couched in an address to the vilest creature of the creation of God! What an impressive lesson of humility is this circumstance calculated to carry home to every individual of the posterity of Adam! It was undoubtedly intended as the signal of death to the folly of human boasting.

I may further add, that the subject of the promise to which I refer, affords an additional proof that the salvation of the Gospel originated solely with God.

If it is admitted that the promised Seed of the woman, who was to bruise the head of the serpent, was the same glorious personage who was afterwards held forth as the seed of Abraham, in whom all the families of the earth were to be blessed; if he was the Messiah of the seed of David, who was to be the Saviour of Israel, the Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. If it be admitted, at the same time, that he was Immanuel, God in our nature, who, in our nature, procured the promised salvation for his people, by his obedience unto death, then surely it is worse than vain, it is criminal, it is impious to dispute the glory of this salvation with God. For who but God could have provided the sacrifice? Who but he would have bestowed it? Who but he could have known its efficacy? and who but he could have conferred its merited award?

To God, and to God alone, then, let us ascribe the glory of the origin, and of the complete accomplishment of the Gospel salvation. The foundation of the structure was laid in grace, the whole work is carried on by grace, “and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it!” “Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed to him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

As some things become petrified by the frequent dropping of water upon them, so some persons who have sat long under the Word faithfully preached, without being converted, become more and more hardened.

— H. Fero

Deze tekst is geautomatiseerd gemaakt en kan nog fouten bevatten. Digibron werkt voortdurend aan correctie. Klik voor het origineel door naar de pdf. Voor opmerkingen, vragen, informatie: contact.

Op Digibron -en alle daarin opgenomen content- is het databankrecht van toepassing. Gebruiksvoorwaarden. Data protection law applies to Digibron and the content of this database. Terms of use.

Printen